Webinars

Training Session

Join Hourglass as we host this online Awareness Session on Organisational Abuse, designed for professionals working with older people across the UK.

The session will be delivered by our Safeguarding Training & Development Lead, Brian Johnston, and will include an interactive presentation covering:

• Definition of Organisational Abuse — what it is and how it occurs

• Spotting the Signs — recognising indicators and patterns

• What Good Practice Looks Like — standards and behaviours within safe organisations

• Learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews — key themes and lessons

• Q&A Session — an opportunity to ask questions before the session closes

Get your tickets here!

Hourglass webinar: ' Hoarding and Older People: The Impact on Older People, Families and Professionals '

Hoarding is often misunderstood.

Historically, people who hoard were frequently seen as difficult, resistant, unwilling to engage, or simply choosing to live in unsafe conditions. Responses were often focused on enforcement, property clearances, and risk reduction rather than understanding the individual's experiences and the reasons behind the behaviour.

Over time, however, our understanding has evolved significantly.

Research, professional experience, and lived experience have taught us that hoarding is often associated with trauma, bereavement, loss, social isolation, anxiety, depression, and significant life events. For many older people, hoarding behaviours may also be influenced by declining health, reduced mobility, loneliness, or shrinking support networks.

We have learned important lessons from the past. Non-trauma-informed approaches, forced clearances, and interventions that focused solely on the environment often failed to achieve lasting change. In some cases, they increased distress, damaged trust, and led to further withdrawal from support services.

Today, there is growing recognition that effective support is built on trust, empathy, relationship-based practice, and a genuine understanding of the person behind the possessions.

Hoarding can have a profound impact not only on the individual but also on families, neighbours, communities, and professionals seeking to offer support. It can create challenges relating to safety, health, wellbeing, independence, housing, safeguarding, and quality of life.

Get your tickets here!